Like a divorce,
an annulment is a court procedure that dissolves a
marriage. But an annulment treats the marriage as though
it never happened. For some people, divorce carries a
stigma, and they would rather their marriage
be annulled. Others prefer an annulment because it may be
easier to remarry in their church if they go through an
annulment rather than a divorce.

Grounds for annulment vary slightly from state to
state. Generally, they may be obtained for one of the
following reasons:

misrepresentation or fraud -- for example,
a spouse lied about the capacity to have
children, stated that she had reached the age of
consent or failed to say that she was still
married to someone else

concealment -- for example, concealing an
addiction to alcohol or drugs, conviction of a
felony, children from a prior relationship, a
sexually transmitted disease or
impotency

refusal or inability to consummate the
marriage -- that is, refusal or inability of
a spouse to have sexual intercourse with the
other spouse, or

misunderstanding -- for example, one
person wanted children and the other did
not.

These are the grounds for civil
annulments; within the Roman Catholic Church, a couple
may obtain a religious annulment after obtaining a civil
divorce in order for one or both spouses to
remarry.

Most annulments take place after a marriage of a very
short duration -- a few weeks or months, so there are
usually no assets or debts to divide, or children for
whom custody, visitation and child support are a concern.
When a long-term marriage is annulled, however, most
states have provisions for dividing property and debts,
as well as determining custody, visitation, child support
and alimony. Children of an annulled marriage are not
considered illegitimate.

Many people are confused about what is meant
by "separated" -- and it's no wonder, given
that there are four different kinds of
separations:

Trial separation. When a couple lives
apart for a test period, to decide whether or not
to separate permanently, it's called a trial
separation. Even if they don't get back together,
the assets they accumulate and debts they incur
during the trial period are usually considered
jointly owned.

Living apart. Spouses who no longer reside
in the same dwelling are said to be living apart.
In some states, living apart without intending to
reunite changes the spouses' property rights. For
example, some states consider property
accumulated and debts incurred between living
apart and divorce to be the separate property or
debt of the person who accumulated or incurred
it.

Permanent separation. When a couple
decides to split up, it's often called a
permanent separation. It may follow a trial
separation, or may begin immediately when the
couple starts living apart. In most states, all
assets received and most debts incurred after
permanent separation are the separate property or
responsibility of the spouse incurring them.

Legal separation. A legal separation
results when the parties separate and a court
rules on the division of property, alimony, child
support, custody and visitation -- but does not
grant a divorce. The money awarded for support of
the spouse and children under these circumstances
is often called separate maintenance (as opposed
to alimony and child support).